Rigid wheels of vehicles can develop defects, such as flat spots or segments along the portion of the wheel that rolls along a surface, shells, spalls, scrapes, dents, gouges, grooves, and the like. These types of defects can be referred to as wheel visual damage. These types of damage can be created by wear and tear of the wheel, such as wearing down of the wheel when the wheel is sliding along the surface. For example, the wheels of a rail vehicle can develop flat spots over time due to wearing down of the wheel by the rails on which the rail vehicle travels. Additionally, bearings in motors that rotate the wheels, axle journals that couple wheels to axles, or other components of a drivetrain of a vehicle can become worn down and/or damaged over time.
If severe enough, these types of damage can pose a hazard for the vehicle. For example, the damage can generate vibratory forces when the wheels rotate along a route, and the forces can damage components of the vehicle. In order to detect the damage, human operators may visually inspect the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped. But, this type of inspection is subject to human error, can be time consuming, and generally can only be performed when the vehicle is not moving. Some sections of tracks for rail vehicles include strain gauges built into the rails. When a rail vehicle having damage in a wheel travels over the strain gauges, the strain gauges can detect the increased amount of force or vibration generated by the damage. But, this type of detection can be limited due to the need for the rail vehicle to travel to the location of track where the strain gauges are located.
Additionally, bearings in motors that rotate the wheels, axle journals that couple wheels to axles, or other components of a drivetrain of a vehicle can become worn down and/or damaged over time. If severe enough, these problems can pose a hazard for the vehicle. In order to detect these problems, however, typically operators may inspect the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped. But, this type of inspection also is subject to human error, can be time consuming, and generally can only be performed when the vehicle is not moving.